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Appeals and Post-Conviction Relief

Expunging & Sealing Criminal Records

Why Clear a Criminal Record?

The United States Department of Justice estimates that over 100 million American adults, or 1 in 3, have a criminal record. In Philadelphia, approximately 400,000 people have a record. In 2011, there were 61,032 arrests and 354,951 charges. 15% of those charges ended in a conviction.

Non-conviction charges remain on a criminal record until they are expunged. Courts sell this data to background check companies who sell it to employers. The Society for Human Resource Management did a study that found 87% of employers look at criminal records when hiring. Although PA and federal law state that employees should NOT consider arrests without convictions for potential candidates, a lot of them still do.

A criminal record will show the following things:

· Convictions: Plea agreements & Guilty verdicts

· Charges resulting in a not-guilty verdict

· Charges that were dismissed or withdrawn

· Charges resulting in a diversion program like Section 17 or ARD

· Juvenile adjudications – in some cases, this may stay on your record

Under Commonwealth v. Wexler, the court weights several factors when considering the expungement of a record, including:

· Strength of the Commonwealth’s case and the reason for wanting to retain the record

· Criminal record history of the petitioner

· Age and employment history of petitioner

· Adverse consequences to the petitioner caused by the record

Eliminating Your Criminal Record

There are four ways that you can eliminate your criminal record:

Expungement: Completely remove an arrest from a criminal record. Expungements are generally only for non-conviction charges.

Redaction (Partial Expungement): Removal of non-conviction charges only from an arrest where some charges resulted in a conviction. The conviction(s) will remain on your record.

Sealing: Old, minor, misdemeanor convictions can be sealed, meaning that only law enforcement and licensing agencies will have access. The records are not available to the public, employers, or landlords.

Pardon: The process by which a felony and misdemeanor conviction may be expunged from a criminal record.

Expungement

Some criminal records can be fully expunged. The process takes approximately 6-10 months. Under Pa. C.S.A §9122, expungement is possible for: